John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' Goes Platinum 56 Years After Release

Kathryn Milewski -

John Coltrane's masterpiece, A Love Supreme, has become the first jazz album of the 1960s to achieve platinum certification.

Universal Music announced the news yesterday (November 10) in a press release, noting that A Love Supreme achieved platinum certification by reaching one million album sales. It marks Coltrane’s first platinum record.

Coltrane’s surviving son Ravi and daughter Michelle (the child of his second wife, Alice McLeod Coltrane) received a platinum plaque for the famous saxophonist's album in a ceremony at the John & Alice Coltrane House in Dix Hills, Long Island. The event occurred during the first week of November, Variety reports.


Ravi said, “We are thrilled and humbled to witness this incredible milestone in our father’s recorded legacy. I believe both John and Alice would be very proud of this achievement. We take great pride knowing new generations continue to discover this album and that the music continues to speak to their souls.”

Coltrane's four-part, album-length suite was recorded December 9, 1964 by his classic quartet: pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones. A Love Supreme was taped in one session at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The record was originally released by Impulse! in 1965. Composed and created by Coltrane as a “humble offering to the Divine,” the album sold well at the time of its release.

Earlier this year, Impulse! and UMe drummed interest in the album back up after releasing A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle - a rare private recording of Coltrane’s quartet performing selections from the LP in 1965. It is the second of only two known live recordings of Coltrane performing the full piece, and it is believed the special album helped push A Love Supreme past its gold certification (which it received in 1970) into platinum territory.

Impulse! Records and UMe have also released a digital-only collection titled A Love Supreme: The Platinum Collection, in celebration of Coltrane’s milestone. The collection includes all commercially released versions of the LP: the original album, a live 1965 recording from Antibes, France, A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle, and outtakes and alternative takes from A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters. It is available to download here.

Even more, Impulse! Records is now selling limited edition vinyl of the album. Each record is cut from the original analog source master, one by one, onto lacquer blanks from Japan. You can get your special vinyl version of A Love Supreme here.

See the label's A Love Supreme Mastercut announcement below.


Discover thousands of free stations from every genre of music and talk at Live365.com.

Ready to start your own station? Contact one of our Product Consultants today.

Keep up with the latest news by following us on Facebook (Live365 (Official) and Live365 Broadcasting) and Twitter (@Live365 and @Broadcaster365)!

Article Image: Black and white photo of John Coltrane on an airplane tarmac in 1963. (Hugo van Gelderen [Available through Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons.)